Haru no Kaze
by PurpleHale
Summary: The day Seijuro became Emperor was also the day Satsuki was betrothed. Satsuki mistook the rude samurai, Aomine Daiki as her fiancé who is officially Kuroko's personal guard. Satsuki meets her real fiancé and instantly falls for the kind Kuroko. For Satsuki, Kuroko was the gentle wind that calms her but Aomine was the hurricane that swept her off her feet. (AoMomo, KuroMomo)
1. Prologue

Kuroko no Basket © Fujimaki Tadatoshi

**Prologue  
**

It was the dawn of spring when Seijuro, the heir of the throne ascended as the new Emperor of Rakuzan.

The celebration of her brother's succession was grander than any festivity the country had celebrated. All the high ranking government officials and nobles from all districts came to witness the crowning of the prince Seijuro.

The prodigy prince had delivered a short yet very powerful speech that got a round of applause from the audience. After the ceremony that was led by Ootsubo Taisuke-kaka, the Minister of Ceremonies, the palace became very lively with the cheerful songs played by the musicians and the alluring dancers. It was also abundant with delicious food and extraordinary wine.

The Excellencies congratulated the young emperor and assured him of their undying loyalty. The Chancellor Shirogane Eiji-kaka was the one who presented the young emperor a luxurious gift from the excellencies.

While watching her calm and collected brother interact with the old geezers, Satsuki had let out a long sigh which caught the attention of her personal guard, Kagami Taiga.

"Why the long face, _hime_?" Kagami asked.

"Can you see the joy in my face, Kagamin?" Satsuki replied with full sarcasm that even Kagami can't help but let out a snort.

Satsuki puffed her cheeks as she watched in annoyance the reaction of her guard. "You are not helping at all, Kagamin!"

"I apologize. It is just, _hime_ is really no good with this kind of occasion."

"Are you enjoying yourself Kagamin? Because I cannot help but feel mundane. All the people here are either way too old or very old. Did I mention, old?"

Kagami who was trying his best not to laugh failed and he just let out a loud boisterous laugh that caught a bit of attention from the other servants.

"Watch your mouth, _hime_. If women dislike being asked of their age, men also dislike being called old."

Satsuki was about to retort when a servant came and told her that her brother had called for her presence.

"Excuse me for a while, Kagamin. The Emperor requested for my beloved presence." Kagami just laughed over her exaggeration. "He finally remembered that he had a sister." Satsuki added before strutting her way towards the young emperor.

"To what do I owe this honor, Emperor Seijuro?" Satsuki asked.

Seijuro met her eyes and gave a small smile. "It seems my beloved sister had developed a sarcastic vocabulary. Does this bore you?" he asked as he gestured at the festivity right in front of him.

"_Ani-ue!_" Satsuki suddenly felt bad for spreading such negative thoughts on her brother's important ceremony. "I apologize for my behavior."

The young emperor reached out for Satsuki's hand which she gracefully offered. Her brother led her to sit right next to him.

"No need to apologize, Satsuki." He said as he gently massaged her hands to comfort her. "You never had any interest in politics or any matters about the palace."

Satsuki who had her head down looked up to meet her brother's gentle eyes. "I actually envied you for having the freedom to enjoy the wonders of life." Her eyes widen as she noticed the change of tone on her brother's voice.

"But _Chichi-hue _had great expectations from you, _Ani-ue._" Satsuki voiced out. "You are more intelligent, perceptive and kind to everyone."

Seijuro was quite taken aback. "You think too highly of me dear sister." He let go of her hand and gently pat her head. Satsuki felt happy. It was one of the rare gestures that her brother did for her.

Satsuki felt that time stopped for them as she forgot the things around her. The sadness she felt when their father passed away had slowly healed. She felt safe. Rumors of a coup d'etat created a sullen atmosphere in the land. The people felt scared for a war meant countless deaths and destroyed lands.

The fear of such madness was the reason Seijuro's succession to the throne was made haste. Despite being at the tender age of 18, the young prince made a firm decision to follow their late father's footsteps.

The grieving period was cut short for it was more important to assure the people who had grown weary of the situation. And now her brother is the new ruler of the land. She was proud; for Seijuro was a man who had exceptional talent and strong presence.

"Satsuki."

The serious tone used by her brother woke her from her thoughts. There was something different with the way he had said her name. It was said with authority, there was no trace of endearment and it made Satsuki's heart beat faster than normal.

"Yes, _Ani-ue_?"

"A well-known and wealthy clan asked me for your hand." It took Satsuki a while to register what her brother had told her. "I took the liberty of investigating them and they are a good and trustworthy family." Her hands got cold. Without looking at a mirror, she knew that her face grew pale.

"They are a simple merchant family. They have three sons. Their eldest is working as our Librarian, you might remember Chihiro-dono. I doubt that though because not everyone can see him."

Satsuki took three painful breathes as she thought of what to say to her brother. "Then will I marry him, Chihiro-dono?"

Seijuro threw her a confused glance. "Of course not. They wanted you to marry their youngest son."

"At first, when I met him, I felt nothing. His presence was weak. He had neither potential as a warrior nor as politician." Seijuro took a sip from his tea, his eyes reflected curiosity like they had found a rare jewel.

"It is true that he does not have any redeeming qualities but I sense that he is special." Satsuki felt a cold chill ran up to her spine. It felt that she was not talking to her brother but to a stranger. This was not Seijuro, this was not his kind brother.

"If polished well, he can be an asset to the palace."

Satsuki felt like crying. The arrangement was a bit a shock but she felt that she had lost another member of her family. She was not talking to Seijuro but to another man who looked like Seijuro.

"Is that alright with you, Satsuki?" Seijuro turned towards her. Satsuki fought the tears that are about to fall. She needed to be strong. She should not cause burden to her brother. He had a lot of heavy burden on his shoulders.

Her being a part of that burden saddens her. So with renewed strength, Satsuki nodded her head. She accepted the fate of every princess. She accepted that she cannot marry someone she truly love. Seijuro reached for her hand and gave her a tight squeeze which she reciprocated.

It was alright.

Her brother only wanted what was best for her.

And besides, love can grow.

...

...

...

It was the dawn of spring when the prince Seijuro, the heir of the throne ascended as the new Emperor of Rakuzan. And it was also the same spring that Satsuki was to be betrothed to the son of a wealthy merchant clan.

-to be continued-

* * *

My first Aomomo fic.

Leave any comments if you can. :D


	2. Chapter 1: The Red Tiger

Kuroko no Basket © Fujimaki Tadatoshi

**Chapter 1**

**"The Red Tiger"**

"Hnnn, so _hime_ is finally getting married." The indifference in Kagami's tone made Satsuki irritated that she elbowed him at the stomach.

"Kagamin, is really crueeeeeel to meeee!" Satsuki whined as she ran away from the redheaded _samurai_. The pitiful man who received the blow gently massaged his injured stomach.

Kagami Taiga, age 24, was one year younger than the newly crowned emperor, Seijuro and six years older than the princess Satsuki. He was a distant relative of the Royal Family and a constant playmate of the prince and princess.

At the age of 20, he entered the armed forces to solely serve and protect Seijuro and Satsuki. Since Seijuro was more skilled in the art of sword fighting, he asked Kagami to protect Satsuki instead of him; for he as the prince and heir of the throne cannot be with Satsuki at all times.

So he found himself always tagging along and enjoying the company of the childish princess. Satsuki, despite being naturally curious and naive about everything had never given Kagami trouble.

In the eyes of the adults, Satsuki was a mere child but Kagami had witnessed Satsuki's talent of analyzing people and foreseeing their actions. It was a talent that Kagami liked for it meant that Satsuki was not easily fooled.

Her brother knew of this potential and that was why, he was tasked to protect Satsuki from any harm. So upon hearing the news of Satsuki's engagement came as a shock to him.

Seijuro who was very protective of Satsuki was giving her off to a no name guy. He was familiar with the Kuroko clan because he had the chance of meeting the older brother Chihiro at the Imperial University before and later in the Imperial Archives where the latter worked as a Librarian.

The second son, Ryota was the most famous among the brothers for he was very good looking and popular with the ladies. He was a ladies' man. Ryota was a true gentleman that can woo any woman. But the third son; Kagami never heard of him or more like no one knew about him. He was like a phantom. Neither remembered his looks nor his name.

But knowing Seijuro, he had already performed a background check of the man. If it was Seijuro's decision then there was no need to doubt it.

There were still a lot of things Kagami would have thought of but he was violently dragged back to reality by a slap on the head.

"It huuuuuuuurrrtttttssssss!"

Kagami wrapped his hands on his injured head and turned around to see the one responsible of hitting him. The color on his face disappeared when he saw the woman in front of him carrying a giant paper fan.

The woman in front of him was none other than Aida Riko. Riko was Satsuki's lady-in-waiting and the daughter of the Grand Commander, Aida Kagetora.

"What was that for, Riko-nee!?" Kagami whined as he touched his bruised head.

"Hmmm… I found Kagamin sleeping in broad daylight, so I felt waking him up." Riko replied as she immitated Satsuki's cute voice.

_Disgusting. _Kagami thought and it will remain his and only his for he does not want to suffer the wrath of Riko's anger.

"Anyway, what are you doing here, Riko-nee?" Kagami asked, as he was not used of seeing the Lady Riko wandering out of the palace.

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Riko hid her giant paper fan and looked around. "Satsuki's fiancé is going to visit tonight. So I was looking for her."

"Where is she?"

Kagami momentarily stopped and surveyed the place. There was no obvious sign of the princess. Satsuki was easily recognized due to her natural long pink hair. Anyone with or without good eyesight can easily recognize her from afar but this time, there was no long pink hair in the crowd to be recognized.

"SHE'S GONE!"

Riko was surprised by the utter panic in Kagami's tone and his exaggerated action. It looked like the man lost his precious pet dog or something.

"Calm down, Bakagami!" Riko hit him in the arm. "Why are you panicking?"

"I apologize for not watching her diligently."

"What are you being serious for!?" Riko was now irritated by Kagami's reactions.

"Actually, there were rumors of a savage _ronin_ slaying young women around town. I just heard of it last night so I panicked a bit." Kagami grasped the hilt of his sword.

"But do not worry." Kagami assured Riko as he saw the worry in her eyes. "There are a lot of guards around town. And this _ronin_, no matter how savage he is, he will not strike at broad daylight."

"I see. That's good to hear." Riko relaxed her shoulders upon knowing that the chances are slim but with renewed enthusiasm she ordered Kagami to start looking for her.

Kagami nodded and asked Riko to go back to the palace, as he was also worried for her safety. He waved at one of the guards patrolling and asked him to escort the Lady Riko back to the palace.

As Riko started heading back, Kagami locked the guard's neck with his arms and threatened him that the Lady Riko was the daughter of the Grand Commandant and if he wanted his head intact he better deliver Riko alive at the palace.

The guard shivered in fear and kept on apologizing. Kagami felt bad for scaring the young fellow so he patted him at the back and told him he was kidding. The guard was still apologizing at him, which confused Kagami even more. He then admitted his defeat and told the guard to follow Riko as she was already far from them.

"That was tiring." Kagami sighed with relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He adjusted his _yukata_ and started threading towards town to find the missing princess.

Deep down, Kagami hoped that the princess was all right and was not crying by herself. But knowing her, she must have been taking advantage of his absence and started loitering around town.

...

...

...

Satsuki who was still running away from Kagami did not notice that she had already lost him. She finally noticed it when she was made aware of the unfamiliar surroundings. She found herself slowing down her pace as she looked back and forth trying to find Kagami.

Kagami was not difficult to find. He was taller than average; he had a mop of blazing red hair and his eyebrows were weird. Satsuki can easily spot him no matter how far or near he was. But this time, there was no sign of a tall, redheaded man.

If it was the Satsuki before, she had probably gone to a corner and cried until Kagami found her. But she was now 18 years old, an adult, and will become a wife soon and maybe a mother in a few years.

So for the first time in her life, Satsuki decided to wander around town, alone.

A lot of people might find it dangerous for an important person like her to be wandering around town without any guards but it was a rule in the Imperial Palace to not show their faces to the public. So only the high-ranking officials, nobles and servants knew what they really looked like.

So Satsuki merrily walked towards the market place. It was quite refreshing looking around without Kagami at her side for once. It was not like she hated Kagami's company but she like any normal girl wished she could go out with other girls, shop with them, eat with them and have a girl's only conversation.

Riko-nee, her lady-in-waiting was the only woman around her. It did not help that she was older than her so she had other important matters to attend to and that does not include Satsuki's trivial ones.

Satsuki ended up wandering the town market. It was so crowded; she needed to squeeze herself between people to get through. The place was really busy no matter how many times she visited the place. Kagami had toured her around the lesser part of the district. He insisted that Satsuki should see the less fortunate part of the town so she would understand the people that they govern.

Satsuki saw a familiar shop that Kagami would visit sometimes. It was a flower shop that sold a lot of common and rare flowers. The owner was a Chinese merchant that immigrated to their country. A lot of people questioned the palace why they allowed a foreigner to run a business in town but all the questions stopped when they heard that the Chinese merchant was a good friend of the Minister of Finance.

Satsuki asked her brother once about why it felt that everyone was scared of the Minister. She knew that the man was not yet in his thirties and for Satsuki, really old men like the Chancellor were scarier than twenty-year-old men like the Minister of Finance.

Seijuro told her that the Minister was once a rebellious and dangerous person in his youth. He brought a lot of trouble in his family. But because the Minister was a true genius, his family turned a blind eye of what he was doing. He also added that; that was the Minister's past and a sign of his youth. The Minister was now a changed man. But many still found him difficult and scary to be with so they stay away from him.

Satsuki, who was lost in her thoughts, entered the shop unconsciously.

"Oh, Satsuki no kimi, to what do thee own thy honor?" Satsuki looked up and smiled at the shop caretaker. Wei Liu was one of the caretakers of the flower shop and a distant relative of the owner.

Liu became friends with Kagami and Satsuki when they helped him carry two big baskets full of exotic flowers. They were casually strolling around town and at first they thought they saw a walking basket of flowers. Kagami offered to help him and in return, Liu gave her a bouquet of fresh white lilies.

"It seems Kagami-dono is not with thee." Liu added as he noticed that the princess was alone.

"Kagamin was sick today so he cannot go with me." Satsuki lied but Liu threw him an incredulous look that meant her blatant lie was bad

"Well, truthfully, I lost Kagamin." She answered feeling dejected because she was really no good at lying. "I was running away from him thinking he was chasing after me so by time I noticed he was not following me."

"Well, if Satsuki no kimi want thy; she can stay here to wait for Kagami-dono." Liu suggested as he started arranging some flowers. "It is dangerous to walk all alone."

Satsuki thanked him but said that since it was a rare chance for her, she wanted to wander around town until Kagami found her.

"Very well." Liu gave her a white daisy and gently tucked it on her ear. "A gift. If Satsuki no kimi felt tired from wandering around then she is always welcome to stay until Kagami-dono arrives."

Satsuki thanked him again and went off.

The sun was slowly setting when Satsuki noticed that her legs were tired. She bought some _odango _and decided to rest by the riverside.

She was almost by the riverside when she clashed into a hard surface. Satsuki was knocked off balance by the sudden impact that the _odango_ she was holding slipped from her hands. She closed her eyes and waited for the painful impact of her butt to the ground.

The awaited impact did not happen so Satsuki slowly opened her eyes. Her large pink orbs met dark piercing blue ones. Satsuki caught her breath. The stranger was holding one of her arms and was the sole reason why she was not yet on the ground.

When Satsuki regained her footing the stranger released his grip on her arm. Satsuki took a good look of the stranger.

He was a tall man, probably a few inches taller than Kagami. His skin was a brilliant tone of bronze that complemented his dark blue hair. Satsuki had an eye for good-looking people and this person was probably on par with Kagami but definitely not her type of man.

The man had eyes that can probably kill. There was no malice in his eyes but they were sharp and deadly. It did not help that the man had a perpetual frown on his face.

"Like what you see, _jou-chan_?" A slight smirk formed on his lips. His voice was deep but it irritated the hell out of Satsuki because of the arrogant tone.

"Excuse me?" Satsuki retorted crossing her arms and trying to intimidate the man in front of him.

"_Jou-chan_ was ogling. Not that it bothers me."

Satsuki let out an exasperated sigh. This person was too full of himself; she wanted to kick him between the legs.

"Well it seems your fine." The man surveyed him. Satsuki automatically raised her arms to cover herself. The man snorted and patted her on the head.

"Do not worry, _jou-chan_. I have no interest in children." Satsuki swatted his hands from her head. It annoyed her so much. Being called a child when she was already at the marrying age.

"Well then, _Jou-chan_ needs to take care since she is a klutz after all." The guy added before he passed her by.

Satsuki turned back to follow his form when she noticed the _haori _worn by the man. Her eyes widen from shock. The insignia on the _haori_ was definitely from the Kuroko clan.

She suddenly felt cold. Does that mean; that arrogant man was her husband to be? She knew what Chihiro-dono looked like. Also he knew what Ryota-san looked like because he was popular but the third brother; no one knew what he looked like.

The first thing that Satsuki thought was that she disliked him. He was too full of himself and looked scary.

Satsuki wanted to throw a fit over this arrangement. She at least wanted a kind and loving husband. Is it not too late to cancel the engagement? Will her brother hear her request?

Her shoulders sagged. Knowing her brother, everything that he did was absolute. Seijuro never thought twice of something he knew that was right.

Satsuki gave her poor _odango_ a second look. It looked so delicious, what a waste. There was no reason for her to back out now. She agreed wholeheartedly so she needed to keep her word.

"_Himeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_!"

Satsuki saw Kagami running towards her. She waved at him with a smile.

"Where have you been all this time!?" Kagami asked as he lightly flicked her forehead. "It hurts! Kagamin!" Satsuki whined as she tended her injured forehead.

"I was worried about you!"

"I wandered around." Satsuki answered with a proud smile on her face.

Kagami let out a sigh of relief. It took him the whole afternoon to look for the missing princess. He looked everywhere and he was thankful he passed by Liu's workplace to ask if Satsuki passed by.

Luckily his instincts were good enough to locate her in the busy side of the town.

"Well, I hope you had fun because right now, Riko-nee wanted you to return quickly to the palace." Kagami explained as he gently pushed the princess to start walking towards the palace.

"Eh, what did Riko-nee say?"

"It seems your future husband was on his way to the palace. Your brother might have invited him over."

"What?" Satsuki was astonished. "Does he want the title of prince so much that he wanted to go to the palace this early?"

"Hm? What are you talking about?" Satsuki was in no mood to see him. Her incoherent mumbling might have confused Kagami so she just dismissed it. "Ha? Nothing. Just talking to myself."

"Well then, let us hurry. You still need to fix your face, right?" Kagami teased.

"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY FACE!" Satsuki replied and threw a soft punch at Kagami's side.

...

...

...

"Hey, Tetsu. You left this." Aomine took the _haori_ off and helped his friend wear it.

"Thank you, Aomine-kun. But I think this is Ryota-nii's." The_ haori_ was too big for his petite form. "Eh? Then I got the wrong one." Aomine just gave him a shrug and took a bite from his _odango_.

"So where were you off to, Aomine-kun?" He gave him a sinister look. "A place where Tetsu will never go."

"Aomine-kun, you really like the Red District too much."

He let out a boisterous laugh and patted Tetsu on the back. "Live a bit, Tetsu. You only have a few more months before you officially become a prince."

"I really do not want to have that title, Aomine-kun." He let out a sigh.

"I think Ryota-nii will be better off with becoming the prince."

Aomine who was busy munching off his_ odango_ gave Tetsu a warm look.

"Don't worry about it. You are worth it!"

-to be continued-

* * *

OMAKE:

Riko: Thank you for escorting me, Sakurai-dono.

Sakurai: *mumbling*

Riko: Sakurai-dono?

Sakurai: *incoherent mumbling*

Riko: Sakurai-dono? (pats his shoulder)

Sakurai: I AM SOOOO SOOOORRRRYYYYY!

Riko: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!

It seems Sakurai-dono was too scared of Kagami-dono that he runs away at the sight of him.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the warm reviews. :3 I am actually excited myself for the future chapters.

Do please forgive my awful wrong grammar. It's been a while since I've written anything this long.


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